Guidelines for Gold Award Participants

Fundamentals

The International Gold Award gives opportunity to truly experience that “there is more in you than you think!” Participants appropriately rise to the challenge of managing their own programme, including the responsibility for adhering to organisational processes given by the Operating Authority.

Participation in the Gold Award is supported through an organisational framework:

1. The Operating Authority must always be ready to give appropriate assistance; thus a licence extension for the Gold Award is required. The additional support given by the Award Association by keeping records on the participants and by monitoring the activities does not relieve the Operating Authority from their responsibility for the participants. The submission of documentation to the Award Association and the guidance of participants are still done by the Operating Authority, just as for the Silver and Bronze Award.

2. In order to be prepared for the added responsibility, each Gold participant must begin his/her Award by attending an Introductory Course in the form of a Gold Seminar or a Leaders Course. (Independent participants must attend a Leaders Course.)

3. Part of the Introductory Course is the registration of participants and activities in the Electronic Record Book, which is part of the Online Administration System. Individual activities can be added at a later point (but before beginning the activity) to be monitored and approved by the Award Association. The Award Association must be notified of the Practice Expedition and Expedition in order to spot-check the planning. The supervisor still monitors all planning done by participants. Please use the correct forms and adhere to deadlines when communicating this information to the Award Association. For more detail, please see “Process” below.

4. Ventures for the Gold Award must take place in a special environment (see Award Basics p. 38). Planning, execution and success of expeditions in Germany are assessed by a Gold Assessor qualified through the Award Association. For expeditions abroad, the Practice Expedition is assessed in Germany.

5. The Award Association arranges the Gold Award Ceremony. Dates can be found in the Online Calendar.

Process

The steps in this process build upon each other and must be followed in this order:

1. Basic Information

   1. Each Gold participant must be in possession of the Award Basics, the Expedition Guide and the following pages from the Record Book Page Collection: Choice Lists, Outline Expedition Programme for Participants, Gold Award Planner and all five Sectional Planners.

   2. As preparation for the Introduction, each participant should read the Award Basics and begin planning his/her individual Award using the different planners.

2. Introductory Course. The first practical step is the Introductory Course. The materials listed above are needed for the course, with the addition of a Record Book Folder. Dates can be found in the Online Calendar.

3. Registration

   1. As part of the Introductory Course, participants are registered through the Online Administration according to the instructions in the Leaders Manual.

   2. Activities can only be counted towards the Award from the point of registration and approval from the Award Association.

4. Late Registration of Activities

   1. As soon as a suitable activity is chosen or an activity must be changed, the Award Association must be informed.

   2. When the Award Association has approved the activity, the Operating Authority can update the Electronic Record Book accordingly. The activity counts from this date onward.

5. Practice Expedition and Expedition

   1. Both (main) Practice Expedition and Expedition must be registered. Having registered the Practice Expedition is a pre-condition for registering the Expedition.

   2. Expeditions and practice expeditions must be registered six weeks in advance if held in Germany, twelve weeks in advance if held abroad. *)

6. Confirmation of Completion

   1. Confirmation of completion will be by email. The Award Coordinator can request this as soon as the Electronic Record Book is complete (assessments for all five sections included).

   2. Confirmation of completion should be requested for each participant as he/she completes the Award, rather than wait for a group of participants to finish.

   3. Certification of completion is needed in order to register for the Award Ceremony.

7. Gold Award Ceremony

   1. When participants have been correctly registered for the Ceremony and the Award Association has confirmed the registration, then Gold “graduates” may attend the Gold Award Ceremony.

   2. Participants must be registered by their Operating Authority at least six weeks prior to the Ceremony using forms f33 and f63. Upon checking all the records, the Award Association then confirms the registration.

   3. Dates for Gold Award Ceremonies can be found in the Online Calendar.

*) Details on deadlines and documentation can be found in the Award Basics pages 47-48 as well as in the Guidelines for Registration of Gold Expeditions and in Wild Country Areas.